The Sallie Mae Web site puts student loan information at your fingertips -- and it's so well-organized you won't have to pull an all-nighter to use it.

What the heck's a Sallie Mae? Well, it's short for Student Loan Marketing Association, and it's a private company that greases the wheels for student loans. As Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do for home loans, Sallie Mae does for student loans by buying the loans, bundling them and selling them off as a group to investors. That way, it spreads the risk among more investors, making the loans more attractive and lenders more comfortable lending money to students.

On its simple but effective Web site, Sallie Mae quickly and efficiently points surfers toward the information they need. You won't find any cool graphics, but that's all right. Students and parents who come to this site are likely to be suffering sticker shock from pricing out a year at Good Ol' State U. They don't want pretty pictures -- they want information, fast! And Sallie Mae delivers.

Best bets: Financial Aid 101: This page provides a good primer for students and parents on financial aid possibilities. It answers fundamental questions, such as "What is student aid?", "How do I apply for financial aid?" and "What happens after I apply?" The outline at the top of the page lets you quickly click from topic to topic. Scholarship service: This page jumps you over to the College Aid Sources for Higher Education database, a nice one-stop source for finding scholarships, fellowships, grants, work study, loan programs, tuition waivers, internships, competitions, and work co-operative programs. Lender search: Once you know that your college experience will include going into debt (you wanted to be a grown-up, right?), this easy-to-use lender search will aim you toward the lowest-cost loans.